Any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention. It should not be taken as an admission that any of the material forms a part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art in Australia or elsewhere on or before the priority date of the disclosure and broad consistory statements herein.
Fragrance systems are known to have been used to emit liquid fragrance into the surrounding room air. However, there have been some difficulties with prior constructions of fragrance systems.
For example, whilst not being an admission of common general knowledge, there are some fragrance devices which have a bottle filled with perfume liquid, a wick extending up through the bottle from its base, and a piezo disc with mesh at the top of the wick. The wick transports the perfume liquid in the bottle by capillary action up to the mesh of the piezo disc where the liquid perfume is atomised. At the start of the product life, when the bottle is full with liquid perfume, most of the length of the wick is immersed in the liquid perfume. This can cause the region of the piezo mesh in contact with the wick to become oversaturated or waterlogged, thereby preventing the piezo disc from diffusing the liquid perfume Moreover, the oversaturation or waterlogging can lead to degeneration of the piezo disc soon after, and sometimes even prior to, purchase by a user, thereby shortening the life of the device and/or rendering it dysfunctional or useless. Thus, it may be advantageous to provide a new cartridge wherein the wetness of the piezo disc is regulatable, or the piezo disc remains dry until activation by a user.
Moreover, despite this problematic early degeneration of the piezo disc, there has been no solution allowing for replacement by a user. Thus, it may be advantageous to provide a system in which the cartridge containing the piezo disc is easily replaceable following disc degeneration.
Saturation of the mesh when the bottle is full with liquid perfume can also lead to excessive amounts of fragrance being atomised and emitted into the surrounding environment. On the other hand, as the liquid perfume is gradually consumed and the liquid level drops towards the base of the bottle, the opposite problem can arise where only a small surface area at the base of the wick is immersed in the liquid, thereby leading to excessive dryness of the piezo mesh and not enough liquid fragrance being atomised and emitted into the surrounding environment. Thus, it may be advantageous to provide a new cartridge in which the wetness of the piezo disc may be maintained at a consistent level as the liquid is consumed.
Another disadvantage associated with prior art systems includes poor spreading or wasting of the atomised fragrance when emitted into the room air. Thus, it may be advantageous to provide a system which improves spreading of emitted particles into the surrounding environment.
In light of the above, it may be advantageous to provide a new system, or new component for a system, which reduces, limits, overcomes, or ameliorates some of the problems, drawbacks, or disadvantages associated with prior art systems, or provides an effective alternative to such systems.